Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen-On The Farm, 2004-03-18, Page 31New digs The construction of a new 75'x200' housing barn for the milking and pregnant ewes was completed in January. (Bonnie Gropp photo) "Saute go, apicattafte" CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT 306 Josephine St., PO Box 300 Wingham ON NOG 2W0 Phone: (519) 357-1522 Toll Free: (866) 756-4770 Fax: (519) 357-1551 Email reidca@scsinternet.com B.W. REID, C.A. - R.M. TAYLOR, C.A. March HAY CARE Month BY COVER-ALL BUILDING SYSTEMS OF ONTARIO Order your Cover-All® in March. Beat the spring rush and have your building installed by June 1.et, 2004. Cover-AII® Hay Storage • No hay wastage • Retain high quality hay • Easy to retrieve bales • Versatility allows you to store hay today, your equipment tomorrow. Cover-All Building Systems of Ontario' Limiting Hay Storage • Unprotected hay bales can lose up to 30 percent of their feed value. • Tarps rip, blow and snap in the wind. • Snow covering the tarp makes accessibility extremely difficult. • Bales freeze from being outside. www.coverall.net 0- COVERAli. ;5 A REG}srEk,c OMOeAARK OF COVEFFALL BOOING SYSTEMS iMOWORSOO,LO lS A MOIST-L.5ED TRASEWAS OE 41_1)E17, TIRE AM) coyoort PAGE A-10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2004. On the farm Brothers take a chance with tough market By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor A late February sun warms the yard, while outside the barn two tiny lambs take advantage of spring's promise to frolic. The air is filled with the cacophonic conversation of sheep. This is Rob Cardiff's working world. Born and raised on a farm north of Brussels, Cardiff was a licenced electrician working in London several years ago. Then in 1999 he and his brother Stewart bought J.N. Cardiff Farms from their father and the country boy came home. To milk sheep. One thousand one hundred of them to be exact. "We mulled over quite a few ideas. We'd grown up around pigs and cattle and knew we wanted nothing to do with that." Though Stewart lives in St. Marys he had purchased the farm directly east from his parents'. Rob and his wife Allyson moved across the road to the north-east. While the brothers cash crop their 600 acres of land, they did want to diversify. After oldest brother Allen mentioned milking sheep, Rob and Stewart, a one-time director of agriculture and agri-business for the Toronto Dominion Bank, did some investigating. "We spent a year looking into it then decided to go ahead," says Rob. "There is a void in Canada, but it's a tough market with a lot of challenges." The biggest of which may be processing. "They usually want a lot of milk." A direct link came about in early 2003 when Stewart bought into Shepherd Gourmet Dairy in Tavistock as a shareholder, then became president. "All our processing goes through Shepherd Gourmet. We decided that way we have more control. With Stewart's business knowledge it worked in well." Though Stewart has always helped and is of course now handling the processing and marketing, from the beginning it was Rob who would look after the day-to-day operations of the flock. Having made the decision to milk sheep, a lot of work was necessary before getting up and running. The barn, which had been set up as a feedlot was totally altered to accommodate ewes and nursing lambs. A new barn 75' by 200' was just completed in January for housing the lactating ewes and the mothers-to- be. Prior to that the sheep had been housed in neighbouring barns. Also, once the brothers were committed to their decision they weren't going to let any red tape stall them. "We called in a government inspector to see if we were set up right," says Rob, adding that they are not under the types of restrictions and legislations that dairy producers are. "I imagine it's because it's not a big enough industry." Also unlike dairy there's no quota involved. Milking sheep is no less restrictive, however. "I have a new appreciation for dairy farmers. It's a lot of work, seven days a week." The day begins for Rob at 5:30 a.m. The double 24 parlour is fully aetomated and milks about 140 ewes an hour on average. Throughout lactation each sheep will give approximately one to two litres a day. "Purebreds can give up to five litres but we started with commercial sheep." Milking is done twice a day with a low average of 300 currently milking now. r Paul Steckle, M.P. Huron - Bruce Huron-Bruce is or instrumental contributor to Canadian agri-business. While every sector of agriculture is experiencing struggles and hardships. we must band together to strengthen our voice and heighten our morale. We have the knowledge and experience to meet the challenges of today and assist us with the direction of tomorrow. We can overcome every obstacle if we remain focused on our goals. Our success is also complemented by the strong support of our rural communities and provincial partners. I will continue to work hard on your behalf as we join together to make Canada a world leader in Agriculture. For more information please contact: Paul Steckle, M.P., Huron-Bruce Constituency Office 30 Victoria Street North, Goderich, ON, N7A 2R6 519-524-6938 L- Though they used to have the milk picked up frozen it is now taken fresh in a bulk tank. One of the biggest challenges was getting the sheep into the parlour. "The first year doing this, you would have to be very good-humoured." Fortunately the greedy nature of sheep made the task somewhat easier. "Once they know we feed corn in the parlour they'll jump all over each other to get in." Getting their kicks was another annoying trait. "Lambs will try to steal each other's milk. The mothers are protective. They will smell the Continued on A-11